Army of Two: The 40th Day seems to have a crazy, completely nonsensical story involving a lot less fistbumping and a lot more dead civilians than the first. Although I’ve seen the game a couple of times now, I cannot for my life figure out just what is going on, besides that our mercenaries are in Shanghai and there’s a bunch of psychos in red wandering around shooting stuff. But I guess that’s part of the intrigue. But what else is there besides the obtuse story? The multiplayer, naturally.

I had a chance to play through the various modes that’ll be available in the game when it hits January 13th, as well as a mode that’s only available to preorderers at launch. I also got a cursory glance at the PSP version of the game, as well as talk briefly with the lead designer of the game’s multiplayer, Eric Chartrand. Read about the event after the jump.

Last week, I took a trip to the EA Redwood Shores to get some hands on time with Skate 3. I briefly played the original Skate and found it to be a nice alternative to the Tony Hawk series but ultimately being a casual skate boarding fan, I decided to pass. A year later EA released Skate 2 and remembering my experience with the original, once again I decided to pass. So when EA asked me to attend a community event for Skate 3, I was unsure if i was the right person to attend but ultimately felt that since I am casual skateboarding fan, maybe I am the audience that developer Black Box is trying to capture.

Keep reading after the jump for my impressions of Skate 3.

There are several AAA games scheduled for release this holiday season, and the one that could sell the best might not have Spartans, zombies or even guns at all. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is coming out later this year and it should easily appeal to the hardcore and casual gamers alike due to its nostalgia factor for the hardcore as well as its ease of play for the causal fans. Sounds like Nintendo has the recipe for the perfect game right? I had the chance to sit down with Nintendo's upcoming blockbuster and I have a full report below.

Hit the jump for more information about my hands-on time with the game.

Despite anyone outside of Infinity Ward actually having played it, many fans of the series have been asking themselves, Modern Warfare 2 is it the game of the year? Activision recently invited members of the media to attend a first look multiplayer event for Modern Warfare 2 and after having about 4 hours of hands on time it is safe to say the question has been answered; Infinity Ward has out done themselves (again) with Modern Warfare 2.

While at PAX, one of my main goals was to check out Capcom's area. They've always been a favorite company of mine, and while I was treated to some great games, one stood far and away my favorite game of everything I saw at the show. I'm a bit taken aback by the fact that Dark Void isn't getting more attention. It certainly deserves it.

The hustle and bustle of the show floor didn't really lend itself to sussing out story details. Thankfully, supplemental materials that were given at the booth flesh things out a bit. In Dark Void, you play the role of Will, a pilot dropped into a parallel universe called "The Void." In the Void, you are given access to a jetpack designed by none other than Nikola Tesla, ostensibly to help a rebel group of humans called "The Survivors." You're recruited to help defend against a mysterious alien race currently besieging the Earth. While that may sound slightly shallow, keep in mind these are bare bones details and the story is sure to go a bit deeper than that.

A story means nothing without gameplay though, and that is where Dark Void truly excels. Strap on your Tesla powered jetpack and hit the jump for the ride of your life.

Man, there were a lot of RPGs at PAX this year. With Blizzard showing its trifecta in the far corner and the entire floor dotted by various forms of online roleplaying conduits, it’s weird how a little game by a small company can possible pierce the veil lying over the whole event. But it seems that's what has happened with Torchlight.

One cannot stop but think that Torchlight looks fairly similar to something else that we’ve seen a lot of lately. You travel underground fighting all sorts of fantasy creatures using spells and upgradable equipment, all of which is randomly generated by some background mechanic. Which is what you can expect, really, when the game comes to use from the designers of the first two Diablos and Fate. What this game adds, however, is a bit more charm.

CDV Software seem to be up to its usual at PAX, a few meddling releases that it can’t get rid of, some easy rerelease, and some underground RPG that nobody has heard of. They were showing off two DS games that were wandering in the wings waiting for an adequate release date; I Heart Geeks, a physics-based game delayed due to a complete aesthetic redesign by Marc Ecko, and My Little Baby, delayed due to reasons of...well...being of little interest to anyone. I’ll pass on commenting on these.

It also previewed the high-definition version of Serious Sam: The First Encounter, which is exactly the same as the original version only better looking, and coming to Xbox Live as well as PC. On account of it being the exact same game, I’ve got nothing more to say about it.

Probably the only interesting offering from CDV this time around is the American release of Divinity 2, the sequel in-pretty-much-name-only of Divine Divinity, an action RPG which takes all the basic options and warps them into something that either is pretty cool or possibly over the top.

During E3 2009, I had the pleasure of visiting Pandemic Studios and getting some hands on time with The Saboteur.

First and foremost I want to give a big thanks to fine folks at Pandemic, they made my visit an enjoyable one. But you are not here to read about my trip to Pandemic, you want my impressions of The Saboteur! This preview looks at the most recent build of the game at the time of E3, although Saboteur is still undergoing development for its Winter release.

The Saboteur is visually stunning and has a lot of promise, but great visuals and potential are not the foundation of a blockbuster title. This is not to say that The Saboteur will not live up to its potential, it simply means that the build I played isn't perfect, and Pandemic still has a lot of work to do. But enough of that, let's get on with my impressions after the jump.

At events like E3, it's very easy to be swept up in the excitement of big-name PS3 and Xbox 360 titles. Heck, I'm not immune to the hype for games like Mass Effect 2 and Uncharted 2. But if I really sit back and think about it, the game that really instilled that "wow" factor wasn't a high-tech, visually dazzling title. Instead, my energy was focused on a handheld game, something that hasn't happened in a very long time.

When I first caught wind of Scribblenauts, the mere concept of the game intrigued me to no end: write anything you can think of, and it will appear in the game. Seriously, how cool is that?

Naturally, I expected quite a bit from the game when I first got my hands on it at E3 2009. I had all these images embedded in my brain about how amazing Scribblenauts would be. My life experiences have taught me that real events rarely live up to these lofty expectations. Luckily, in this case, the game impressed me more than I could have imagined.

Hit the jump to find out why Scribblenauts is my "Best of E3" winner.

Since the dawn of video games, Aliens and Predators have not really gotten along. In fact, they’ve been pitted against mankind and each other for the last twenty-plus years on every single platform except the Nintendo GameCube (the discarded Dreamcast port counts as a game if the discarded Dreamcast counts as a console). The latest conflict staged by Rebellion Games (those guys who made Alien vs. Predator and, you guessed it, Aliens vs. Predator) doesn’t look to correct that oversight any time soon either -- in fact they’re only compounding the issue, seeking to release Aliens vs. Predator on the 360, PS3 and PC in early 2010.

At this year’s E3 we were given the chance not only to watch the perennial Predator, leaping through the jungle fully camouflaged, but we also got to see some Colonial Marines pee their pants face off against a wave of Aliens in the cramped corridors of a space colony. The lighting and visuals at this stage definitely look impressive, but that much is only fun when you’re watching Ahnuld spring cunning traps.

What counts most is the way a game plays, and that is something especially important for this title considering the fact that not only are all three factions (Marines, Aliens, Predator) playable in the single player story, they will all be pitted against each other in the multi-player arena. It’s a balancing act tough enough to give Philippe Petit pause, but is it one that the development team at Rebellion can pull off?

Aliens and Predators can hit the jump for more -- the Marines’ boots never seem to leave the ground. (Master Chief would be so ashamed.)

During our endless stream of appointments at E3 2009, we managed to snag a little treat. Sony was preparing a behind-closed-doors showing of Heavy Rain, the upcoming title from Quantic Dream. Luckily for you, dear reader, we were able to snag a seat for the developer-led demonstration.

Although the development folks are always keen to avoid divulging important details at events like this, we came away with a much more in-depth feel for Heavy Rain. We caught glimpses of everything from the core gameplay to a nearly-naked female character. Oh, and swearing... lots and lots of swearing.

The graphical integrity is certainly the first thing that popped out to me during the showing, but it's certainly not the concept that left the most lasting impression. And while there are plenty of positive things to be said about the game at this point, there's also one major point that seemed to soil my feelings toward the title.

Read about my gut reaction after the jump.

Early Tuesday we had the opportunity to swing by the Bethesda booth (the first official stop at E3), where Jeff Gardiner was kind enough to guide us through a portion of the Point Lookout DLC. It seems that several changes have been made from the previous packs, the first being the fact that although you take a ferry to the swamplands of Point Lookout, you are free to travel between there and the D.C. Wastes as often as you please. The artistic style gives a very distinct impression, featuring a dilapidated Victorian style mansion and crumbling lighthouse near where you leave the docks.

Tighten up your boots and jump off the boat for the rest of our hands-on preview.